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Friday, November 18, 2016

Be A Wall Against Dengue

Whenever I hear stories from my friends and school co-parents about how devastating dengue can be, I say a short prayer of thanks that I haven't had any first-hand experience with dengue, it hasn't affected anyone in my family yet.

Lately, I've been also reading in the papers about the recent rise of Dengue cases in the country.

I love my family and I want to do everything that I can to spare them from dengue.

A few Fridays ago, I attended the Be A Wall Against Dengue campaign held at the Glorietta Activity Center. With me were some of my friends, most of whom have already contracted dengue, or at least have had a family member who got sick from it.

Michelle Lim, Paolo and Suzi Abrera, Janice Villanueva and ME

I think among our friends present there, it was only Michelle Lim and I who are lucky enough to not have any experience with dengue firsthand. So while we were waiting for the program to start, we both went around the area to participate in the activities and to learn more about how to protect our families against dengue.

Taking part in the Test Your Dengue Readiness activity inside the maze

With Michelle Lim of My Mom-Friday and Michelle Aventajado of Momma 'N ManilaDid you notice that we were all wearing the same white top even if we didn't talk about it? Great minds think alike? Birds of the feather flock together? Ubisan na ng idioms! Haha!

Be A Wall Against Dengue

The program started with Maricel Laxa Pangilinan who shared how she got dengue twice. Once when she was six years old and then another time when she was already married. And how her daughter also got dengue when Maricel was out of the country on a safari trip in Africa.

From a mother's point of view, how depressing and conflicting can that situation be? You don't know whether to go home and be with your daughter or go ahead with the trip becasue you are right in the middle of it already.

Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan shares her experience about having dengue twice

Paolo and Suzi Abrera shared that when Paolo got the virus, he was down and out for a number of days and this surprised him as it hit him at the peak of his active and healthy lifestyle. He shared with us that he was doing triathlons and marathons so he felt like he was so fit and invincible.

Paolo and Suzi playing Family Fued, with the popular responses to symptoms of dengue.

Symptoms of dengue include a quick rise in temperature to 40 C with skin rashes, severe headache, pain behind the eyes, joint pains, and vomiting. When this happens, the patient should be brought to the hospital immediately.

My friend, Michelle Aventajado also went up the stage and shared her story of the time her husband got dengue and had to be hospitalized. He had fever for 6 days, and initially refused to go to the hospital thinking it was just a bad case of flu. But when he was so weak that he couldn't walk anymore, they rushed him to the hospital where he was diagnosed with dengue.

But not all dengue cases end up in the hospital, some can also just be mildly afflicted. Mish shared that her sons tested positive for a dengue strain even if he didn't manifest symptoms.

Michelle Aventajado shares how her son got dengue unknowingly and how the family survived it.

After everyone was done sharing their horrific experience with dengue, I know more about dengue, and I'm willing to be part of the #MomsAgainstDengue

Here are my takeaways from what I learned that night:

1. Search and destroy mosquito breeding places. Our first line of defense against dengue is prevention, keeping in mind that mosquitoes usually lay their eggs in stagnant water.

2. Protect ourselves by using insect repellents, wear clothing that covers the body and install protective screens at homes.

3. Consult a doctor if fever lasts for more than two days. Observe your temperature and use a thermometer. A person has fever when the body temperature is 38.0 C or higher.

4.There is now a way to combat dengue thru a vaccine, seek your doctor's advise to be more informed about dengue. As it remains to be one of the fastest-growing mosquito-borne diseases in the world and the Philippines ranks among the top-three countries affected by it, we are comforted by the fact that there is now a way to fight it thru a vaccine.

The Phenomenal Woman

Thanks for dropping by! The Phenomenal Mama is a blog about my experiences as a stay-at-home mom as I try to be purposeful & intentional in taking care of my family & home. I am only phenomenal in how I allow God to use my imperfections to do his phenomenally perfect work.